SIOM pays great attention to international cooperation and academic exchanges. International cooperation is very active at various levels and in different forms. Many visiting scholars, scientists and entrepreneurs from over 50 countries/regions, including a number of Nobel laureates and head of states, visited SIOM or participated in short-term cooperation at SIOM. Each year, about 200 international visitors visit SIOM and about 100 researchers from SIOM go abroad for international conferences or cooperative research. SIOM has established various science and technology cooperative relationship with many countries such as Germany, Japan, Korea, USA and UK, etc..

The first international conference co-organized by SIOM is the International Conference of Laser in 1980 (ICL'1980), which is also the first international conference in the field of laser held in China. It had such great significance that Mr. Deng Xiaoping met with some conference representatives in Beijing. Since 1980, more than 40 international conferences have been organized or co-organized by SIOM.

In recent years, SIOM has strengthened efforts to attract scientific and technical elites from overseas by promoting academic exchange through CAS Einstein Professorship, Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists, Fellowship for Young International Scientists, International Partner Program of Innovation Team and CAS-TWAS Fellowship Program, etc..

For the great achievements on international cooperation, SIOM was awarded as "The Base of International Cooperation" by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China on December 6, 2007.